Car-fender



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. P. BUTLER.

GAR FENDER.

Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

clforlfg (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. F. BUTLER.

CAR FENDER..

Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

(No Model.) a sheets-sheets."

' J. P. BUTLER.

GAR FENDER. No. `58]L,65'7. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

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TNS NORHIS PEYES CU PHDTC-LITHO WASHINGYON. D. C.

lhvrrn Srnrns Artnr JAMES F. BUTLER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CARFENDER.

SPECIFICATICN forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,657, dated April27, 1897.

Application filed April 2li 1396- To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES F. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in car-fenders, andhas for its object to provide a device of this description which, whenapplied to a car, will prevent said car from passing over a personcoming in contact with the wheels; and with these ends in view myinvention consists in the details of construction and combination ofelements hereinafter set forth, and then specifically designated by theclaims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describeits construction and operation in detail, referring by numbers to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and inwhich* Figure lis a perspective of one end of a car, showing myimprovement applied thereto; Fig. 2, a plan view of the fender removedfrom the car Fig. 3, a central vertical section showing the guard-framein its lowered position; Fig. 4, a plan view of my improvement adaptedfor attachment to the front end of a fender of ordinary construction;Fig. 5, a front view of the same; Fig. 6, a slightly-modified form ofconnection for the trip-rod; Fig. 7, a further modification of thisconnection; Fig. 8, a detail of a method of attaching my improvement toa car, and Fig. 9 a modification thereof.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, and 3, l represents the front end or dashboardof a car, to which are secured the brackets 2 in any suitable manner, sothat they may be attached or detached without removing any portionthereof,

` and 3 is a platform of rectangular shape secured thereto.

A cross-bar l connects the two brackets in such manner as to give thelatter rigidity, and to this bar are pivoted at 5 the swinging arms 6,and these have pivoted to their' outer ends the drag-bar '7, whichlatter is slotted at S, so as to permit the pivoting-bolts 9 to comeSerial No. 588,487. (No model.)

' and go when said bar is moved up and down.

The drag-bar is provided with a locking-slot l0, with which the bolt llis adapted to engage for the purpose of holding the bar in its elevatedposition. To this bolt is hinged a yoke l2, the arms of which extendforward and support the trip-rod 13. In order that the drag-bar, whenbrought to its elevated position and locked by the engagement of thebolt with the ,locking-slot, may be securely held in place, I provide ahousing 14:, into which said said drag-bar passes and also upon whichthe yoke rests when supporting said bar, and this housing is in turnsupported by the cross-bar et.

To the outer end of the yoke-arms is attached the trip-rod 13, whichextends across the front of the fender and in advance thereof, beingprovided with right-angled sections l5, extending rearward and pivotedat 16 to the springs 17, said springs being attached to the rear side ofthe cross-bar 4: in such manner as to normally hold the trip-rodforward, yet permit its rearward movement when suficient pressure isbrought thereon for the purpose hereinafter set forth. From this it willbe seen that should a car provided with my improvement run down a personthe trip-rod will first come in contact with such person and be forcedrearward against the action of its springs by the impact, thus releasingthe drag-bar by the withdrawal of the bolt therefrom and permitting saidbar to drop of its weight into close proximity to the road-bed or incontact therewith, and when in this position it will be obvious that aperson cannot pass beneath the car, as they will be caughtby thedrag-bar and moved along the roadbed until the car can be stopped; andin order to increase the facility of the frame composed of the drag-barand swinging arms 6 one or more ribs 1S may be pivoted to said arms, asclearly shown, by the passage of suitable bolts through the slots lf). Ihave shown one of these ribs, but any number may be used as occasion mayrequire.

Should it be found desirable to put the tripping of the drag-bar framewithin control of the motorman, a lever 2O may be pivoted to thedashboard at 2l and connected by the chain 22 to the trip-rod, wherebysaid trip- LOO rod may be operated to release the dra g-frame by themotorman moving the upper end thereof outward against the action of thespring 23.

It is obvious that the fender may be attached to the end of the carin anumber of ways, but I have found that for this purpose the devices shownin Figs. 1,3, and 8 are well adapted therefor, which consistofsuitably-shaped loops 24, secured to the dashboard and having collars 25arranged to slide thereon, the upper ends of the brackets being bent atright angles thereto, so as to pass within the holes 2G, where they areheld by the collars 25, embracing the lugs 27, projecting upward fromthese rightangled pieces. This arrangement permits the ready removal ofthe brackets from the car, so that the fender may be changed from oneend of said car to the other or detached therefrom.

Another construction which answers the same purpose and is equally asadvantageous in practice is shown in Fig. 9 and contemplates thebendingof the upper ends of the brackets into L shape, as at 2S, so thatthey may be passed into the opening 2G in the loops, the upper endsthereof'being engaged by the collars 25.

In Figs. 4, 5, G, and 7 I have shown my improvement as applied to thefront end of a fenderof ordinary construction, in which case a cross-bar30 is adapted to be secured to the end of the fender-frame 3l bysuitable gears 32, and this bar takes the place of the crossbar 4 andhas pi voted thereto at 33 the swinging arms 34, which carry thedrag-bar 35, and, as shown in these figures, this baris composed of ametal rod having offsets 3G secured thereon and arranged for theattachment of the drag-rod to the swinging arms by the passage of thebolts 37 through the spaces formed between said offsets and said bar. Inlike manner the rib -rod 38 is attached to the swinging arms by theoffsets 39.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the trip-rod 40 is connected to the cross-bar30 by itsends being bent inward and engaging the ears 4l, which are slotted forthe reception of these ends. 42 is a plate-spring secured at 43 to therear side of the cross-bar and adapted to bear against the yoke 44,which carries the bolt 45 and is also attached to the trip-rod at 4G.The dragrod 35 is provided with an offset 47, having a locking-slot 48therein for the engagement of the bolt 45, in order that said drag-barmay be supported in its elevated posit-ion, as before described inconnection with Figs. l, 2, and 3. By providing the rod 35 and rib 33with the offsets, as just described, the strength of said rod and rib isnot diminished by the formation of holes or slots therethrough forattachment to the swinging arms 34.

In Fig. 6 the connection between the said trip-rod and the cross-bar isreversed, an d the inner ends of the former are slotted at 49 forengagement withlugs 50, secured to or formed with the cross-bar 30; butit is obvious that many such modifications might be made in the forms ofattaching the trip-rod to the frame or the attachment of the fender toeither the car or the outer end of the Ordinary fender, and I thereforedo not wish to be limited to these details of construction, as the gistof my-invention rests in the broad idea of providing a drag-frame whichnormally is held out of operative position, but will be brought intosuch position automatically when coining in contact with a person,thereby precluding such person-from coming in contact with the wheels ofthe car.

One of the advantages of the constructions above described is that thetrip-rod after having automatically performed its work of releasing thedrag-frame will swing upward in riding over the prostrate form of aperson, so as not to interfere with the action of said drag-frame.

The swinging arms of the drag-frame may be arranged in any convenientmanner, but I prefer to pivot their upper ends at considerable distancesfrom the outer ends of the cross-bars, as clearly shown, and extendtheir lower ends outward, so as to steady the dragbar, which is attachedto these lower ends, and enable it to better perform the function forwhich it is intended.

If desired, the drag-frame with its tripping mechanism may be located atany point upon the ordinary fender, either at the front thereof, asabove described, midway thereof, or at the rear of such fender, the onlyrequisite being that the trip-rod shall extend in front of the fender inorder that it may be the first part thereof to come in contact with theperson. It is also obvious that this trip-rod may be made of sufficientstrength to support a person thrust thereon, and by proper sheathing orcovering it may serve as an auxiliary platform.

Itis to be noted that when a person is struck bya fender embodying myimprovements and is thrust thereon the platform will remain in itsnormal position as well as the trip-rod, thus supporting said personuntil the car can be stopped.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulisl. In a car-fender, a drop-frame composed of a cross-bar, swingingarms pivoted thereto, bolts projecting from the swinging arms, ribshaving slots slidable on the bolts and means for normally holding theframe in its elevated position and automatically releasing it onstriking an Obstruction, as and for the purpose described.

2. A fender consisting of a drag-frame supported by the car or partsattached thereto, said frame consisting of swinging arms, a drag-barpivoted thereto and one or more ribs carried thereby, a bolt adapted toengage with the drag-frame to hold the latter in its elevated position,a trip-rod attached to the fender adapted to lock said drag-frame in itsIOO IOS

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elevated position, and one or more springs for maintaining the normalposition of the trip-rod and permitting it to be moved rearward whencoming in contact with an obstruction, whereby the drag-frame isreleased and permitted to drop by gravity into juxtaposition to the roadbed, substantially as shown and described.

3. The herein-described drag-fra1ne adapted to be attached to a car orfender carried thereby, a bolt for securing said frame in its elevatedposition, a yoke hinged to said bolt, a spring-actuated trip-rodlconnected to said yoke, and means within control of the motorinan foractuating` said trip-rod, substantially as shown and for the purposesset forth.

4E. The herein-described combination ofthe swinging arins G, cross-bar 4to which said arms are pivoted, a drag-bar attached to said arins bybolts passing through slots, one or incre ribs also attached to saidarms, a housing into which the drag-bar and ribs may be folded, a boltresting upon said housing for locking the drag-bar in its elevatedposition, a yoke hinged to said bolt, a trip-frame to which said yoke isattached, springs 17 by which said trip-rod is carried, and meansas alever and chain attacl11nent-foractuating said trip-rod, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a device of the character described, loops having openings thereinsecured to the front of a car, collars sliding on the loops, bracketshaving projections to pass through the openings of the loops, and lugsformed on the brackets adapted to be engaged by the collars, as and forthe purpose described.

G. In a car-fender, brackets secured on a car, a rectangular frameattached thereto, a cross-bar con necting the brackets, springs on thecross-bar, a trip-rod pivoted to the springs and extending beyond theframe,a drop-frame attached to the cross-bar havin ga locking-eye, ahousing on the cross-bar through Which said locking-eye projects whenthe drop-frame is raised,a yoke secured to the trip-rod and a bolthinged thereto adapted to slide in the housing and engage the eye of thedrop-france, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afiixed iny signature in thepresence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES F. BUTLER.

Vitnesses:

S. S. WILLIAMSON, MARK BUFORD.

